100 Days of Art History Jinjins

74/100

Portrait of a Young Lady, thought to be Simonnetta Vespucci

As a Botticelli fan, I love this painting. It's thought to be Simonetta Vespucci, known as La Bella Simonetta, the greatest beauty of her day.

I liked the grace of her features, and the opportunity to study my face in profile. But the thing about this painting I loved the most was definitely her hair. It is incredibly elaborate--I still don't understand what's going on with the braids going around her collar--and it was very fun to copy.

You'll notice that in the original, her red hair stands out against the black background. I have black hair, so I inverted the colors. The pearls also stand out more in my hair than hers, and the braids stand out less.

This is one of the entries where when I look at it I remember where I was when I drew it. I was on vacation at a family member's house in Vermont in the summertime and in a great mood. It's funny how those memories get connected.

Reference image is from Wikipedia, by José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro. This painting is now in the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt.

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